Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(68)

Stir in the garlic powder and onion powder.



Add the cream cheese mixture to the bowl with the eggs and stir it all up. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and chill until ready to serve.



Serve by itself on a lettuce leaf, as filling in a sandwich, or stuffed in Hannah’s Very Best Cream Puffs for a fancy luncheon.



Yield: Makes approximately a dozen superb egg salad sandwiches.





Chapter Twenty-Four




Hannah let the springs on the machine she thought of as the Push Me, Pull Me snap back into place with a loud thwack. It was bad for the machine, she knew that, but she simply didn’t have enough energy to return the pedals and the handlebars to the starting position any other way. She was weary, worn out, ready to drop, and dead beat. In other words, she’d had it!

Three hours of exercise classes was too much for any normal human being. Hannah was willing to testify to that. Thank goodness she didn’t have to go back to The Cookie Jar today! She could go straight home, take a shower, feed Moishe, make some sort of dessert, and drive to Norman’s to watch surveillance tapes. Big whoopie.

“Miss Swensen?”

Hannah turned to see an older man with short-cropped gray hair smiling at her. He was wearing a mall security uniform, his bearing was stiffly military, and he looked alert and competent. “Yes?”

“I’m Frank Hurley. Charlotte called and said you might want to talk to me.”

“Hello, Frank,” Hannah greeted him. She should have known that Charlotte would jump the gun. “I’m glad to meet you, but I don’t really have any questions for you. You weren’t working the night of Ronni’s murder, were you?”

“I was working, but my shift ended at midnight. I heard she was killed a lot later than that. Is that right?”

“Yes.” Hannah didn’t see any harm in telling the security guard the facts. “Doc Knight says it was sometime between one and two-thirty in the morning.”

“It was a terrible thing to happen, but I won’t lie and say I’m sorry she’s gone. Miss Ward wasn’t a nice person. She caused a lot of hurt feelings around here. I’m just sorry that Tad was working that night. I know it was hard on the boy.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s never been at a murder scene before.”

“And you have?” Hannah was curious.

“A couple of times when I worked private security for an after-hours club in the Cities. People get liquored up and do crazy things. Most of the time we could break it up before things got too hot, but there were a couple of altercations that got way out of hand.”

“You sound pretty calm about it.”

“Sure…now. That was over thirty years ago, and I don’t take that kind of work anymore. It’s usually pretty tame duty out here at the mall. That’s one of the reasons I wanted Tad to work here.” Frank took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Please don’t say anything to anybody, but Tad’s my nephew and I got him the job. I told the head guy I knew somebody good who was looking for a mall job, and he took my recommendation and hired Tad. He wouldn’t have done it if he’d known that we were related. There’s some kind of rule against it.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”

“Thanks. Tad’s my sister’s youngest, and he’s always been like a son to me. As far as I can see, he’s only got one weakness.”

“What’s that?”

Frank looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s women,” he said. “He picks the wrong ones.”

“Quite a few people I know have that problem,” Hannah said, giving him a commiserating smile.

“Tad needs a nice girl, one with good moral fiber, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I do.”

“I’ve tried to talk some sense into him, but he won’t listen. He just keeps trying to get the wrong girls to go out with him.”

Hannah nodded, remembering that Charlotte had told her Frank liked to lecture people.

“Well, I’d better get back to work,” Frank said, turning to go. “Nice talking to you, Hannah. Just call me if you need me for anything. Charlotte said she gave you my number.”

When Frank left, Hannah dragged her tired body to the dressing room, slipped on her coat, and grabbed her clothes. She’d change at home. Right now all she wanted was to be transported to her condo in an instant by the flick of a magic wand, or the click of ruby slippers.

She’d almost made it to her cookie truck when a voice hailed her. Hannah turned to see Tad Newberg heading her way. He was dressed in a parka that said MALL SECURITY over the breast pocket. A fur-lined hat with the same designation embroidered in green was clamped on his head, and he looked a lot warmer than she felt in her perspiration-soaked workout clothes.

“I noticed you were still here,” Tad said, giving her a smile in greeting.

“I’m just leaving. What are you doing here so early?”

“I’m pulling a double today. One of the day guys called in sick. How are you girls coming along with the investigation?”

Hannah was surprised. When they’d talked to Tad at the security station, none of them had mentioned that they were attempting to solve Ronni’s murder. “Who said we were investigating?” she asked, answering his question with one of her own.